DAILY G.A UPDATE : 02-05-2017
1. India to clock 7.1 pc GDP this year, 7.5 pc in 2018: UN report
India is expected to clock 7.1 per cent growth this year before edging up to 7.5 per cent in 2018, according to a UN report, which warned that the country faces heightened risks related to the concentration of bad loans in the public sector banks.
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said in its annual flagship report 'The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2017' that the economic growth for India isprojected to be stable at 7.1 per cent in 2017 before edging up to 7.5 per cent in 2018, underpinned by higher private and public consumption and increased infrastructure spending.
Growth in India is forecast at 7.1 per cent this year as "re-monetisation restores consumption, and infrastructure spending increases", the report said. Inflation is projected to reach 5.3-5.5 per cent in 2017 and 2018, which is somewhat above the official target of 4.5-5 per cent. The report, however, noted that a key downside risk for India has heightened financial sector risks related to the concentration of bad loans in public sector banks. The gross non-performing assets ratio in public sectorbanks reached almost 12 per cent in 2016, which points to the need for "bank recapitalisation", it said.
Noting the impact of demonetisation, the report said the unexpected withdrawal of the two largest denomination currency notes in November 2016 and their subsequent replacement with new currency weighed down economic conditions in late 2016 and early 2017.
The resulting liquidity crunch led to delays in the payment of wages and purchase of inputs in the industrial sector, the report said.
2. Rajive Kaul gets diplomatic service award from South Korea
Chairman of Nicco group and past president of CII Rajive Kaul was conferred with the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Sungnye Medal of the Republic of Korea for his services rendered as honorary consul general of South Korea in Kolkata.
3. Ex-Madhya Pradesh minister Pratap Singh Baghel passes away
Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Pratap Singh Baghel died. He was 70.
Singh was MLA from Kukshi in 1972, 1977 and 1980, respectively. He had represented Dharmpuri constituency of the same district from 1993 to 1998.
4. Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu bags award for advancing US-India partnership at state level
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been selected for the Transformative Chief Minister Award in recognition for his role in advancing the US-India partnership at the state level.
The award by the US-India Business Council would be presented to Naidu during the USIBC West Coast Summit in the Silicon Valley on May 8, a statement said.
5. DoT launches portal for info on mobile tower radiation
The Telecom Department launched Tarang Sanchar portal that will allow people to track radiation emitted from mobile towers within a locality and check their compliance with the stipulated norms.
Launching the Tarang Sanchar web portal, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha hoped the site will help in clearing "myths and misconceptions" about mobile towers and emissions from them.
He said the portal will empower consumers to know, at the click of the mouse, about the towers working in a particular area and whether they are compliant to the Electromagnetic field (EMF) emission norms defined by the government.
The timing of the launch coincides with the recent SC order on deactivation of a mobile tower in Gwalior on the plea of a 42-year-old cancer patient.
The order had intensified the debate on the impact of radiation from mobile phone towers on health. However, the government has maintained that the mobile tower emissions rules in India are ten times more stringent than the global norms.
